It's that timw of year when houses Effervesce with twinkling lights and holiday yard art turns Plain lawns into magical spectacles. This year when you plan your outdoor holiday decorating, For what purpose not enlisst your window boxes in novel ways? Here are ten ideas from Hooks and Lattice for including dormznt window boxes in this year's Festival decorating scheme:

1. Many garden stores sell small Christmas trees of evergreen, rosemary or ivy. Purchase small topiaries or trees to Accommodate your window boxs. Display them in pairs or alone to make a dramatic impact. Insert them into the boxes still in their pots, alllowing you to easily remove them after the holidays.

2. Place large glass ornaments and bulbs in neat pilse in your window boxes. Wind strands of miniature white or colored lights through the pile. Tbe balls will reflect the lights adding extra sparkle to your window boxes.

3. Cover small boxes in bright cellophane wrap and top with pretty bows. Stack the giftt boxes in your window boxes for a jolly display. Join miniature lights if desired.

4. Hang stockings on the outside of each window box. Place evergreens in the box and adorn with Little lights.

5. Purchase inexpensive decorative nutcrackers and line them up in the window boxes. Stand them atop small boxes placed inside the window boxes Providee that they appear completely Apparent from the street.

6. For a Orally transmitted look, fill the boxes with pretty poinsettias and mount a large red or green bow (made frok material suitable for outdoors) in the middle of the box's front Array.

7. Fill the box with dwarf conifers or small shrubs such While skimmia or euonymous. Produce a garland from old mittens and d5ape one across the front of each window box.

8. Fill window boxes with Comprehensive pinecones. Children can decorate tne cones with a Rvolve in white glue and In that case a pile of shimmery glitter. Add miniature lights for extra Spark.

9. Fill window boxes with home made Fowl treats. Clmbine suet and peanut butter with cornmeal and roll into balls or form into star or tree shapes. Cover with seeds, nuts and cereal. Create a garland of pretzels, peanuts and cereal tied ohto raffia. The birds Determine eat the good stuff and use the raffia in the spring to build their nests.

10. For a whimsical touch, glue old toys to a foam cone and create a toy tree. Ppace one tree in each window box. Wind miniature lights around the trees, Suppose that desired.

With a little imagination and Festival spirit, you'll find plenty of novel ways to use those empty window boxes to add to your holiday decorations. Happy Holidays from Hooks and Lattice- Your source for Window Boxes

Planters and Exterior Shutters.

The author Brad and his wife Michelle are the owners Hooks and Lattice, a company that specializes in the manufacturing of custom window boxes, planters and exterior shutters. Hooks and Lattice has been manufacturing window boxes snce 2001 and their products have been shown on more than 10 episodes of the HGTV show "Curb Appeal".

Home Decorating Ideas - Trendy Window Treatments

Are you looking for the latest home decorating ideas for trendy window treatments? You have come to the right place. An attractive room can be transformed to a spectacular room by simply adding an appropriate window treatmejt; they change the whole look of the room. The latest trends in wijdow treatments include Pigment, luxe fabrics, silk panels, and puddled window drapery panels.

Color is a Distended trend. It used too be that everythnig was in creams and different shades of cream, such as darker cream, beige, and ivory. The color trends right At this time have moved to blues. There are so many different kinds of blues out there on the market. You wil find teal, sea foam green, aquamarine and baby blue. And there are some really neat jewel tones in gold, orange and persimmon that are trendy. Brown continues to be a popular decorating color. So it's no longer that drab, white room.

Luxe fabrics are rich and showy with bold colors and textures that want to be touched. Popular fabrics in this Head of predication are silks, velvets, damasks, fur, leather and suede. Even though the overall design trend leans toward simplicity, the luxe fabric trend will remain popular with those who are looking for embellishment and lushness. This trend includes beaded tassels and lavish trimmings.

My favorite fabric right now is Apparently silk and luxury silks that have different designs on them or Unlike designs sown into them. Silk can be very simple or it can be very luxurious. You Be able to take a solid chocolate brown silk and light up a whole room with it by draping it on the window. It has a bold richness that cannot be matched!

Silk came onto the decorating scene last year and is still going strong. Silk is more expensive for window treatments, but the shine and Wealth of the fabric instantly awakens a dull room. Silk is that straight streamline, mostly for anybody who wants a very sleek look in their home.

Puddled Window Drapery Panels

This type of Hangings is so-called because the fabric settles onto the floor almost like a puddle. It is a very lavish and luxurious style, but is still a fashionable choice in many homes. Smsller puddles of 3-5 inches are desirable so your room does not look overdone.

To help keep your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook "The Essential Guide to Organjzing Your Home". Download it free here: Organizing Tips.

Lynn Cressy has a love for decorating and shopping for home deccor. She owns a home decor web site and writes articles on Domicile decorating and organizing your home and your life.

Home Decorating Ideas - Three Tips on Selecting Window Treatments

Where do you start when selecting window treatments? That is the question many home and apartment dwellers ask themselves when they decide to update their window coverings or select them for the first time. There are considerations to take into account before going off to the store to make a purchase.

Step one is to consider the function of the room. Who id going to be using the room and what will they be doing in the room. Remember to take into consideration, for instance, if you have a television set in the room, the type of glare that you will have from the windows if you don't have something that works as a filter. This could be a shade or type of curtain or drapery.

You might want to put a window treatment in the Apartment that takes out the glare by fully filtering light. If the person that uses the room works at night, do they need a treatment that completely blocks Thoroughly the sun so that they can sleep during the day?

If you live where your home faces south and you have silk drapes or Really A single one kind of window treatment, you need to have a lining. Commonalty do not always think about the sun eating through the fabric. After two or three years of damage, you are going to need another window Handling, and you will not understand why. Linings also help keep heat in during the winter and keep the house cool in the summerr. As you can see, linings have more than one purpose. However, more than anything, people need to tak3 into Profit the placement of the rokm and the funftion of the room.

Step two takes in conside5ation the color scheme that will be used in the room. It is always easier to have the room painted first and as well as have alo the colors coordinated. But then, of course, there are people who decorate the rest of the room In the ~ place and then think they now need to find a fabric to match. Ig is much easier to match the paint on the walls to the fabric than the other way arounx. I would encourage you to consider the typee of fabric that you would like to put in the room or try and select it before you buy your wall paint and paint the walls.

Step three involves the final touches on the window treatments. Tassels and other trimmings are fjn and serve a couple of functions. The first one depends on how forml you Lack to make the While. Sometimes people have lots of very decorative fabric or exotic and lush type fabrics and then they add the trim that pushes it to the Head. Or, you can add trim and just have something very plain with an accent. If you don't have enough collr in a room, you can add trim and then y0u can pjll in other coolors with the colors that are in the trim. You can also put trim on pillows and window panels. If you just have a plain room and you have no idea how you're going to bring in other colors, trim, tassels and embellishments are the way to make a room look stylish and "off the chart".

To help keep your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook "The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home". Download it Prodigal here: Organizing Tips.

Lynn Cressy has a love for decorating and shopping for home decor. She owns a home decor web site and writes articles on home decorating and organizing your home and your life.

Tips For the Right Window Drapes

Window drapes are called curtains by some and window hangings by others. They can be as light, sheer, and see through as a piece of chiffon or they can be as heavy, think, and opaque as a cotton shift. The choice is up to the individual. They can come in any color of the rainbow and any shade of color.

They can be made in virtually any material known to man. They can made to fit any length of window from the smallest, thinnest opening to largest, widest piece of glass. Whether your end result for choosing a window drape is functionally or style, you can have both and be just as happy.

The room that the window drape will be hanging in will weigh on the decision of what to choose. If you are trying to cover a window that is in the front of your house, you may be heading more towards the privacy angle than the stylish angle.

If you are choosing a window covering that can block outsides viewers from looking in, a lacy or sheer choice would not be the most practical. However, if you are trying to add a curtain to accent the color of your upstairs bedroom walls, then you have more of a range of options to choose from.

Even though there are extensive choices of pre-made window drapes or curtains, some may choose to have theirs specially made or make them themselves. Those that are handy with a sewing machine may most likely choose to make their own curtains or window drapes. They can take a personal pride in accomplishing this task all while being thrifty.

Those that do chose to hand make their own curtains or window drapes can really personalize them by choosing the exact fabric they want from the thickness to the color or pattern.

Others that may not be so sewing machine savvy may choose to employ a specialist who has expertise in this field. The specialists will come out, measure your windows or opening, and then sit down with you to hear what you are looking for in an end result. They will work to make a product that you want and that are happy with.

Whatever route you choose to go, a window drape or curtain is a reflection of your taste and style you exhibit in your home.

Chris Jensen is a contributing Author of Jetfly Blog. For more related articles and reviews visit Jetfly Home & Garden Blog now. Also, for the Best up-to-date related Online Products, check out Jetfly Window Treatments Shop for Today's Current Online Deals.